Study: Cannabis Use Associated with Better Cognitive Function in Adults Aged 40-77
- New research from the University of Colorado Anschutz found that cannabis consumption is linked to better cognitive function and larger brain volumes in adults aged 40 to 77.
- Researchers observed that larger brain volumes in many regions were positively associated with cognitive performance, potentially reflecting preserved brain function rather than age-related atrophy.
- Moderate cannabis use was generally associated with larger brain volumes and improved cognitive outcomes, although some measures showed high use yielding the best results, suggesting dose-dependent effects.
- The study used data from the UK Biobank, grouping 26,362 participants by cannabis use levels, but researchers noted limitations due to lack of detailed usage patterns.
New research from the University of Colorado Anschutz suggests that cannabis consumption is associated with better cognitive function and larger volumes in several brain regions in adults aged 40 to 77. Anika Guha, PhD, a clinical psychologist and faculty research associate in the Department of Psychiatry at CU Anschutz, noted that while bigger brain volumes are not “always better,” researchers “often see smaller brain volumes due to processes like atrophy and neurodegeneration,” which are “often correlated with reduced cognitive function and increased dementia risk.”
“In this study, we did see that most of the brain regions we looked at demonstrated a positive relationship between brain volume and cognitive performance. So in this sense, we could think of larger brain volumes in the context of aging as possibly reflecting maintained brain volume and preserved cognitive function, as opposed to say something like atrophy that we expect to occur with age.” — Guha in an interview posted to the CU Anschutz website
Guha noted that “for many” of the study’s outcome measures, cannabis “moderation seemed to be best,” and that participants who consumed moderate amounts of cannabis “generally had larger brain volumes and better cognitive performance.”
“At the same time, there were a few measures, like volume of the right amygdala and visual memory and learning, where the high use group had the best outcomes,” Guha added, which she said “really suggests that there are dose-dependent effects.”
Guha did note “as a caveat” that researchers “didn’t have access to detailed information about the patterns of usage,” which she said “would be helpful as additional contextual information.”
The study included information for the United Kingdom’s Biobank, which asks participants to estimate how many times – from a set of ranges – they had consumed cannabis over their lifetime. Researchers then grouped people (26,362 in all) into no use, moderate use, and high use. Guhan called the method “an imperfect way to group people,” but said it allowed researchers “to approximate dose-dependent effects.”